Skulls and Bones
by 13thsense
Summary: My Halloween fic. After a party, one of the penguins is attacked by a monster... cliche, right? Maybe not
1. The Nightmare Begins

**1 – The Nightmare Begins**

**Sup people, I'm back, obviously. Klagenfurt was a living hellhole. I hadn't had to learn so much German in my entire life. ****Meine Träume liefen sogar in Deutsch ab, aber lassen wir das.**** Well, here's the Halloween fic I've written. The first chapter takes place on Halloween and the rest the days after. It won't affect my other stories. Hope you take the time to read and enjoy it.**

**I guess it's also worth mentioning that I don't own "Penguins of Madagascar".**

Fall is well on his way, he bears his teeth by sucking the green out of the leaves. He shows his fury with his occasional warm breath that sends shivers up your spine. And he's honored, every year, with the greatest holiday of them all, Halloween. It's the time of year that transforms everyman, of every age, back into a child. No matter who you are throughout the year, you can be, who you want to be, on this day.

Nobody knows the roots of this all-so-sacred holiday, nor do they know its original purpose, and yet we decide to live in blissful ignorance and indulge on the treats, which we receive in this time.

It may come to us humans as a surprise, but we aren't the only species of the animalia kingdom that celebrate this time of year. Their traditions have brushed off on other animals as well. Just like the human children, pups, chicks, kittens, and all kinds of other young critters are seen wandering around. Their paths vary, but eventually, they all end up in the zoo.

Every animal there prepares treats for these hungry wanderers and are happy to share them. There are a few Halloween Scrooges, but let's just ignore them. "TRICK OR TREAT!" yelled three baby park animals. There was a raccoon, dressed as a pirate, a squirrel, disguised as a fireman, and the little Eggy, covered in camo paint.

The three were at the Asian otter exhibit and Marlene looked at them with a smile. She was dressed as a vampire, wearing a blood red tank top and a black miniskirt, and was sporting a pair of fangs in her mouth, "Why aren't you the cutest thing I've seen all day."

"Cute and cuddly are the orders ma'am," replied the little duckling and extended his bag. Marlene gave them each some sweets from a bowl she was carrying and then they were off. They were the last trick-or-treaters for the day and she watched them leave.

The otter let out a sigh and went inside her cave. She took a few sweets from the bowl and then stretched. "It's finally over," she laid down on her bed and unwrapped a piece of candy, "Now it's time for the grown-ups to have some fun as well."

And indeed it was. Julien was throwing a party and everyone was invited, because let's face it, what's Halloween without parties and what are Halloween parties without something going terribly wrong?

Now, when there's a party scheduled next door, there are three things you can do, go to bed and burry your head beneath your pillow, call the police, before going to sleep, or join the fun. Skipper's choice would've been the fourth, fly solo and end the racket, but thanks to some persuading from the otter next door, he changed his mind.

"Are you sure this is right? I don't feel very vampire like," complained the leader seeing his reflection in a mirror. Private was in charge of the costume making, seeing as he was the only one with any skills on the sewing machine. Skipper received a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt, a black leather jacket and of course the fangs. Everything was specially designed to fit a penguin.

"Nonsense Skippah, you look smashing," replied the Private, he himself wearing a "Sherlock Holmes" attire complete with tobacco pipe and magnifying glass.

"I know, but when you said vampire, I thought something more along the line of Nosferatu or Vlad the Impaler, with a cape, not your average good-looking guy with fangs," the captain explained.

"You have to go with the time Skippah, this is how vampires look like now."

The captain sighed, "Ok, but it's just not the same."

The chubby bird gave his leader a pat on the back, "There, there, just think about how good you and Marlene will look together at the party." The leader smirked in response. Private smiled as well and turned towards the laboratory door, "Come now Watson, we have a party to attend."

He didn't receive any response, so he called again, "WATSON!"

"I told you I'm not going as Watson," said a voice.

"Oh come on Kowalski, you lost the game fair and square, now dress like you promised," Skipper ordered.

"I'm afraid that won't be a possibility, I do not own such an attire," the door swung open and out of the lab stepped Kowalski, "But I do own this."

Skipper and Private averted their looks, expecting something gruesome or another of his inventions, that'll go off any second, but after a minute of nothingness, they finally dared to look again.

There was nothing in the scientist's flippers, the only thing different about him was the fact that he was wearing a T-shirt. The two birds observed the picture on it. There were numerous blue lines, radiating from a single point, and parallel red lines, running down vertically.

"You're a… uh… you know what, I have no idea what you are," said the captain.

"Isn't it obvious… *silence*… I'm the Hering illusion," explained Kowalski in a slightly agitated tone.

"I don't get it," Private said.

"Me neither, Kowalski, why couldn't you just give the kid this one gift and dress up as Watson?" Skipper asked.

The lieutenant scowled, "Because I don't wanna," he childishly responded. "Besides, that rock paper scissor game was totally rigged," he muttered.

"It's called broshambo, thank you very much," said a voice behind the "Privates 1st prize" plaque, which swung open, revealing the dark water monitor behind it. He stepped into the light of the HQ, showing the birds his disguise.

He was wearing a white t-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and covered in blood. In his right claw, he carried a butcher's knife and on his head was a bright red bandana. The attire itself wasn't that scary, but what really freaked out the Private, was the fact that the reptiles left eye was just white. There was no pupil, no iris, no nothing.

"Um, Alexandah, what's wrong with your eye?" he asked, slightly terrified.

"Oh, this?" the monitor asked pointing at the eye, "It's just a blind lens. I can't see through it, but it ads that certain touch to the psychopathic killer costume."

The chubby bird wiped his forehead in relief, "Good, for a moment there I thought you were going blind."

"Accelerated healing, remember? Now, are we good to go?" asked the impatient reptile.

"Not yet, we're still waiting for," the leader was interrupted by the metal screech of the fishbowl. A screaming dark figure with a chainsaw jumped down the hole. Kowalski and Private grabbed each other in fear while Skipper and Alexander didn't even flinch. "Nice one Rico, but you should've gone with Leatherface, if you were so desperate to use the chainsaw."

Rico was wearing a torn, bloodstained, blue shirt and brown pants. Strapped to his back was a miniature shotgun and tapped to his right flipper was his trusty green chainsaw. "Nu-uh!" he replied shaking his head, "ASHLEY!"

Private calmed down and spoke, "Well at least Ash Williams is one of the good guys as oppose to *gulp* Leatherface."

"Yes, but the chainsaw is a very poor weapon of choice. Its range is very limited, it's heavy, you have to start it first, it can stall, can't cut metal and if the chain breaks it becomes completely useless," added the smart bird.

"Oh for crying out loud Kowalski, it's a party," explained, "Now can we please just get this thing over with as fast as possible."

Everyone but the leader lined up and saluted, "Yes sir!"

Skipper rolled his eyes, "Why can't ever show that much enthusiasm on a Monday morning?" he asked. Everyone began giving their own explanation, creating an un-understandable chatter, which made the captain regret his question, "*Sigh*, Never mind, let's go."

They exited the HQ and headed west. Waiting for the guys, were the girls. They had decided to couple up with Team Double X. Well, actually, it was just Private and Kowalski who decide to go as the badgers' dates, since they were the only two single.

Skipper's eyes widened the moment he saw Marlene. He stopped sliding which caused the remaining penguins to crash into him. The water monitor managed to stop in time since he was walking, not sliding. The leader quickly got up and dusted himself off, before approaching his girlfriend.

"You're… uh… wow," he couldn't think of an appropriate comment.

But Marlene understood what he was trying to do and after a short giggle, she thanked him.

The weapons expert and combat medic then approached their girls. They were dressed similarly. Both had their feathers/fur bleached and were wearing torn bloodstained dresses. The only difference was that Sienna's was a spring green color, while Iris' was a light blue.

"Shall we go in?" asked Alexander, being the only one who could talk at the moment. The females nodded and they entered, leaving the badgers and the other two penguins behind.

"So, conjoined twins, that's an… interesting costume choice," commented Kowalski. The badgers were both wearing pink tank tops and blue jeans. The tops were and bottoms were partially sewn together, creating the illusion that the two were "joined at the hip".

"Aw, thanks – That's so nice of you – You guy look great to – Love your Sherlock Holmes costume – And I think your, your, your, uh, Stacy? – Uh, endless hallway costume," Stacy guessed.

"Actually, it's the Hering illusion," the tall bird explained.

There was a silence, which Private broke, "I still don't know what that is."

The scientist groaned, "Just look at the picture. The radiating blue lines create the illusion that the two red lines are curved outwards, in spite of the fact that they are actually straight."

"Isn't that the doing of your stomach?" asked Becky.

The Private began giggling and Kowalski shot him an angry glare that made him stop. "Well you have to admit that haven't left your lab very often in the last week and you have been turning rather chubby."

"*Sigh*, let's just attend this party already," and so they did, they entered the lemur habitat where the party was already at full throttle. Rico and Sienna were in a dance off against Julien, who was dressed up as the king… of pop. He was wearing an exact replica of the red "Thriller" jacket. The lemur king, with the limited number of females in the zoo, did not have a date or dance partner.

Skipper was being pushed on to the dance floor by Marlene, but he was doing his best to resist. In the end, he had no choice but to bust some moves of his own. You know how the tough guys always use the "I can't dance" excuse, well Alexander's was just a tad bit different.

When the badgers and their dates arrived, they just managed to catch him emptying the punch bowl and wiping his mouth before walking over to the raven, "Wanna dance? I'm just drunk enough to not care what others think of it," he said.

Iris didn't seem very happy about it, but she went with it. And so did Kowalski and Private who were both dragged onto the dance floor, no questions asked. I bet you're wondering where Mort and Maurice were; they were at the water monitor exhibit. Mort was tired from a day of trick-or-treating and needed the sleep, and Maurice joined him, because someone had to keep an eye on the little guy.

Alexander happily offered them his place since he probably wasn't going to get much sleep this night anyway.

The party went on for hours even after the actual Halloween. Julien left the dance floor to try himself as a disc jockey at one point, but was booed of the mixing table the moment the needle hit the record and "On the Floor" started playing. At that point, Rico took over and began playing "The Creep", which everyone thought of to be hilarious, except for the lemur king who was sulking in the corner.

Eventually, around three in the morning, Becky and Stacy decided they had enough. It was strange how they always agreed on everything, because in a situation like this, it could've gotten really ugly if one wanted to stay and the other wanted to go.

Trying to be good dates, Kowalski and Private offered them an escort home, which the two girls happily accepted; it was a scary night after all. "Are you feeling cold?" the smart penguin asked.

"Uh, not really, I have fur, remember?" Becky replied.

"Oh, of course, I just presumed that, like in human custom, the male should offer the girl his jacket after a date," he explained.

"But you aren't wearing a jacket," said Private.

"And this wasn't a date… or was it?" Stacy threw a mischievous look at the chubby bird, which made him gulp in fear.

The two badger sisters broke out into laughter, "Don't worry Private – This was just so we – Didn't go by ourselves – To the dance – Since everybody else had dates," Becky finished. The little bird smiled again and so did the scientist, even though, on the inside, he was still depressed because of the way Doris had left him. He attempted to create a segway for her, similar to the one Blowhole uses, but she just said something about him treating her like she was handicapped and said it was over.

Kowalski let out a sigh, which Becky noticed. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Huh, oh, of course it is," he replied, hoping that it wouldn't sound suspicious.

The badger habitat was located on the far west of the zoo, past the reptile house, next to Roger the alligator. That meant that it was a pretty long walk home. They were chatting, to help pass the time and soon passed the reptile house, but little did they know, they were being watched.

There were no "glowing red eyes", just a shadow, on top of the small building. The dark figure was locked on them with its head and moved it as they walked by. The moment they came close enough, it leaped from the roof of the reptile house and landed in front of the small group, scaring them almost to death.

The penguins and badgers stood under a streetlamp and the shadowy creature stood between two lights, in the darkness. The Group first backed up and then Kowalski and Private entered their fighting stances. They were trained to take on any situation, but there are things that military training just can't prepare you for. And their flippers fell when they saw the beast that stepped into the light.

**Damn it cliffhangers. I'll try and update again tomorrow. As you could probably see, I managed to make the first chapter, and actual chapter, unlike in my other stories. See you soon and please review.**


	2. First Real Blood

**2 – First (Real) Blood**

**Sup people! Thanks for all your reviews, the ideas I get from them can be horrific that's why every suggestion's welcome. Like hardrocker21's, for example, I wouldn't have used quotes if it weren't for his review. Thanks again and enjoy!**

The beast slowly stepped into the light of the streetlamp and Kowalski's and Private's flippers dropped. The little bird began shaking and the scientist's eyes widened. The beast was growling as its full appearance could now be made out.

It was canine of some sort, standing on all four legs, it was still about 1.5 meters tall, its fur was maroon colored and the thing that shocked them the most, was the head. You could clearly see the fur on its body getting thinner towards the neck, where there wasn't any at all. The skin on the neck also slowly disappeared going towards the head, showing off bare muscles and throbbing blood vessels. But the muscles didn't reach the snout.

The last visible muscle was the masseter attached to the lower jaw. The rest of the head was just a bare white skull, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue.

"Kowalski, *gulp* since when d-do we have a w-wolf exhibit in the z-zoo?"

The scientist just stood there silently and observed the monstrosity.

"Kowalski?"

"This beast," the scientist began, "Its existence defies the very rules of nature." The, let's call it "Skull Wolf" for now, began walking forward, still growling viciously. Private backed up, back to where the badgers were, and was shaking together with them.

"Do you even know the infections you could get with the lack of skin? I'm surprised you're not dead already," the genius bird criticized.

"Kowalski, what are you doing, we have to hide," Becky said.

"Nonsense, it has no optical receptors, it can't even see us," replied the scientist.

The wolf stopped right in front of the tall penguin and lowered its head to his level. "It doesn't look like he's having a trouble knowing where you are though," Stacy said.

Kowalski felt the beast's cold breath against his body. Despite having science and logic at his side, his confidence was slowly fading away. He started sweating nervously. "I could be wrong though," he muttered to himself.

The canine opened his mouth and let out a loud roar. "Private, I'm open to any suggestions you can think of," he whispered to his team mate.

"But you're the options guy."

"Oh, right," he pulled out his clipboard and vent over some notes, "Well given the resources we have, the fact, that we're probably seriously outmatched, and our tired state, I think our best choice would be to *crunch*" the wolf snatched the clipboard from the penguin and bit it in half.

"RUN!" Kowalski yelled. Everyone started screaming and running away from the wolf, the way they came here, but a waddling penguin is slow and being "stuck together" the twins couldn't move very fast either.

Back at the party, on Skipper's request, Rico was forced to put on a slow song. Everyone watched as he shared the last dance with the otter. The two just gave themselves to the song and let their bodies move on their own.

They were looking in each other's eyes, when Skipper finally spoke, " Do you have any idea of how much you mean to me? How much I love you?"

Marlene just smiled and went closer for a kiss, but suddenly, Skipper let go of her. "Did anyone else hear that?" he asked.

Rico looked at the water monitor, who shrugged, "Uh-uh!" he grunted.

"What exactly did you hear?" asked Alexander.

"About three, maybe four screaming girls," the leader answered.

"You mean like a "I saw a movie star" scream, or a scream of terror?" the reptile asked.

"Definitely a scream in terror," he replied and turned to Marlene. "I have to check it out, I'll be back as fast as I can," he reassured.

The otter nodded, "Just be careful."

"I will," he replied. "Come on men, let's investigate," he ordered and slid off. Rico gave Sienna a quick peck on the cheek before sliding after his leader and so did the water monitor.

They left the three girls alone with the lemur king, who quickly took back the position of the DJ, "Alright peoplez, or should I say ladiez, we are to be partying all night long, so let us be getting too it." He began playing the music, which the girls ignored.

"Anyone wanna go back to my place to get out of these costumes?" Marlene asked and then left together with Iris and Sienna. Having not immediately noticed that he had been left alone, Julien continued playing different songs.

The escape attempt was foolish and futile; the wolf simply jumped them and cut off their escape route, it once again began growling. Everyone stopped in their tracks. "Ok, new plan, Private and I stand and fight, while you two go get help," ordered Kowalski.

"Of course, just because we're girls – you don't think we can fight – DO YOU?" the badgers asked.

'Aw, curse women and their need to point out their equivalency to men, despite the fact that it's been decades since the genders became equals,' thought the smart bird. He turned towards the girls, "No, but in your current costume you're not very useful in a combat situation," he explained.

"How about if I go?" offered the Private.

"I think it would be downright pointless to once again repeat myself," snapped Kowalski. "Now please just do as I say so we can AHHH!" he screamed and fell on his stomach. While the penguin wasn't paying attention, the wolf had raised his paw, revealing a set of sharp claws, and swung at the penguins back.

He easily tore through the T-shirt, but there was a surprising lack of blood. Instead, red beads rolled across the ground. Kowalski slowly opened his eyes and saw them. He jumped up and shot an angry glare at the canine, "First, Doris leaves me, then you take Clippy from me, and now Abby? No, this has gone far enough… and the claws of a wolf aren't even meant for cutting and or slashing."

The wolf began growling, "You don't scare me," Kowalski jumped up and kicked the monster's muzzle, but it didn't seem like it did anything other than agitate it even more. "Aw feces," the penguin swore, when he landed again.

The wolf tried to bite one of them, but they managed to jump back in time. Kowalski was thinking of a way to stop the canine, "Ok, how about," he grabbed the already ripped t-shirt, "Japanese anime, don't fail me now," he muttered and tore the shirt off. The wolf was slightly confused now.

"With my muscular pectoral and abdominal muscles exposed, I have become stronger," he said pointing at the monster.

"What muscles?" asked Becky, to which Stacy just shrugged.

"Kowalski, that's only on the telly," informed the Private.

"Say what now?" the lieutenant looked back at the chubby bird. The Skull wolf seized the opportunity and snatched Kowalski's flipper. The penguin let out a scream in pain as four canine teeth pierce his flipper through and through.

Everyone watched in shock, frozen with fear. After realizing what had happened, the genius bird curled up his other flipper in a "fist" and began punching the wolf's muzzle, but it was pointless to punch bones. He was lifted into the air and shaken from side to side.

Kowalski could feel his shoulder muscles being stretched, it was agonizing. Private's expression changed to a serious one; he slid to the wolf and began attacking his front legs. The punches and kicks that were thrown weren't even acknowledged.

A brilliant idea struck him, he impaled his beak into the wolf's right front paw. After the pain struck the beast, he reflexively pulled it back and looked down, where he saw the determined look on the young penguin's face. "Put down my friend!" he demanded.

The wolf lacked the facial muscles to do so, but I'm certain that if he could, at that point, he would've smirked. With an incredible force, he brought down the requested bird, aiming at Private. But the chubby bird evaded the attack only to witness his team mate getting slammed against the ground.

It knocked the wind right out of the scientist, but he was still conscious and his flipper was still in the jaws of the monstrous predator. He felt blood running down his feathers, but couldn't do anything about it; he was simply to hurt and tired.

The wolf put his left paw on the bird's stomach, to hold him down, and began pulling on the flipper. Kowalski's eyes shot wide open and he let out a grunt in pain as he felt his muscles stretch again.

Skipper, Rico and Alexander arrived to see the gruesome scene of their scientist being mutilated. "HEY, if you like wings so much, here's two more for you to digest!" he began sliding towards the beast, but noticed something strange about it, "What the deuce?" he asked and stopped. He was surprised at the site of the freak of nature. "Kowalski, is this another one of your creations, because if it is, I'm taking your lab away."

The wolf ignored the new arrivals and gave the flipper a last powerful jerk. The elasticity of the tissue was put to the test, and it failed. It all happened so fast, but before anyone could do anything about it, the flipper was torn off. Everyone, including Kowalski was left wide-eyed and speechless.

'My flipper, m-my flipper… I can't feel it anymore,' thought the scientist in utter shock.

The wolf stood above the bird, seemingly proud of his accomplishment, and unaware that a water monitor had sprinted up to him. He received a punch to the lower jaw, which made him lose the severed flipper. Alexander caught it and jumped away.

The wolf looked at the reptile and snarled, then something hit his face exploded. The loud bang brought Skipper back to reality and he looked back to see Rico holding his shotgun with smoke coming from the barrel. He strapped it back to his back and started the chainsaw. "Groovy," he grunted and ran towards the wolf.

The smoke cleared, once again revealing the smoldering skull. It let out a last growl before turning away and running off. The monitor narrowed his eyes and threw the limb over to Private before going into pursuit. "MEDIC!" Skipper called, which stopped the reptile in his tracks.

He watched the wolf disappear from sight and cursed his medical education for forcing him into doing the right thing here. He turned around and walked over to Kowalski. There was a large wound where the flipper used to be and bright red blood was spurting from it. Cauterizing the wound would stop the bleeding immediately, but at the loss of the limb.

He had to go with the better alternative, reattachment, "We need to get him to my habitat, I don't have any tools with me." He threw the penguin over a shoulder and took the flipper before heading towards the reptile house.

Skipper turned to his remaining team members, "We need to track that thing down," he said and then turned to the badgers, "Get home as fast as you can, don't stop no matter what." The sisters nodded and ran off.

Private pulled out his pipe, which he put it in his beak, and his magnifying glass, which he brought up to his eye, "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time," he said.

"Uh, Private, I'm pretty sure it was a wolf," corrected Skipper.

The chubby bird waddled over to the ground where the wolf stood before and bent over, "Hmm, no footprints I see, which means he either vanished or it's just because of the stone tiles," he said.

Skipper rolled his eyes and looked over to Rico, "So, where did you get the grenade rounds for the shot gun?" he asked.

The maniac cut off by a scream, tearing through the night. The captain's eyes widened and his pupils shrank, "MARLENE!" he shouted and slid off.

**I've decided to be evil and leave you at a cliffhanger. I may even step on your fingers. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I should call the "Skull Wolf", I haven't thought of a clever name for him yet. Hope you liked it and please review!**


	3. A Mysterious Guest

**3 – A Mysterious Guest**

**So, I uh… hmm… I got nothing. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!**

Skipper raced towards the source of the terrifying scream, to his girlfriend. He could only assume the worst while hoping for the best. He just prayed that her scream wasn't triggered by the wolf.

It was actually pretty amazing how fast he got to the otter exhibit, guess adrenaline really pushes you over your limits when something important is at stake.

The walls of the enclosure soon came into view and so did the otter residing there. She was covering her mouth, looking at something. Skipper slid right next to her and stopped, in a defensive pose, in front of her.

He raised his flippers, ready for anything, but once he actually stopped, he wasn't sure why she screamed in the first place. "I don't get it. What's so scary again?" he asked.

"There!" she pointed at a spot underneath the streetlamp.

The penguin's gaze fell upon something, which he identified as, "A mop head?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"That's what I thought, but then it moved," explained Marlene.

Skipper was taken aback by this. Okay, even if it moved, what would be so scary about a moving mop head.

With a confident smirk he approached it. There's really not much to explain here, it basically looked like a black mop head, a bundle of coarse strings, but without the plastic part, which attaches to the handle.

He bent over and took a closer look and nudged it slightly. It moved in response. The leader flinched slightly at the reaction, but gave it another go. This time there was a groan as well. He scratched his bottom beak, when he heard the voices of his team mates arriving.

"What in the Queen's name is that?" asked the Private, after sliding up to his leader.

"A wig?" grunted Rico after shrugging.

"No, I don't think so," replied the leader. This time he shook it slightly and then saw actual movement. The bundle of coarse strings slowly raised itself and then turned towards the penguins.

"Please *pant*, you have to help me," it spoke and then collapsed again.

The penguins exchanged confused looks. "Did a piece of janitorial equipment just speak to us?" asked the Private.

"To avoid any drug tests, we'll pretend this never happened," replied the leader, "Understand?" he asked and received nod from his crew. "Good, now this, uh, thing, obviously isn't what it appears to be and since it asked us for help, I guess the best thing to do would be to at least bring him to a vet," suggested the leader.

"Um, I don't think that there are any vet offices open this early in the morning," the chubby bird said.

"Hmm, you may have a point there Private. We'll have to get a phone book and a transportation method. We'll find a close by vet and get him to it," explained the captain.

"But we have a vet here," the Private responded.

"Oh, right, then we'll-"

"Hey guys," Marlene cut in and everybody turned towards her. "Yeah I don't mean to bust your plans here or anything," she said, while rubbing her arm, "but don't you have a medic now, for situations just like this."

"Oh," Skipper scratched the back of his head,"Right, Alexander, almost forgot about him."

The otter crossed her arms, or front legs, on her chest, "Yeah, just almost."

"But before we go anywhere, does anybody know what this thing is?" the leader asked.

Rico walked over to it and sniffed it, "Hmm," he thought about the scent and then stuck his flipper in between the coarse strings. He pulled out a tail, "Huh?" he was surprised and scratched his head, before finally turning to his leader. "Dog" he grunted.

"A dog?" asked the surprised captain. "Strange…" he grabbed his bottom beak, but soon shook it off,"Let's just take him to the reptile house already."

The canine was about twice the size of Rico, but the maniac managed to carry him himself anyway. They soon reached their destination and entered the water monitor exhibit. From there it was just a few steps down to the underground portion.

Rico, together with his leader, waddled directly towards the infirmary, while Private stopped in the game room, where Mort and Maurice were both sleeping on the couch. He waddled up to them and saw the little mouse lemur shaking. He looked around and spotted some blankets with which he covered the little fella. "There, that'll keep you all warm and toasty," he said before heading out.

The infirmary was just a short waddle away, but Skipper and Rico were both still standing in front of its door, "What are you waiting for?" he innocently asked.

"It's says we shouldn't enter," answered the captain, looking at the inscription on the door.

The chubby bird took a look himself, "Non intrant!," he read. "What does it mean?"

"I don't speak or read Latin, but I assume, that we shouldn't enter," replied the leader.

"Maybe Kowalski knows," tried the private.

"Maybe, but even so, he's," Skipper realized something and grinned, "We should ask him, am I right?"

"Uh-huh," Rico nodded and opened the door, with the dog still on his back. He looked around, but couldn't see his other two team mates. "Anybody 'ere?" he asked and made a few steps forward.

"What are you doing in here, can't you read Latin?"

The maniac turned around and saw the water monitor in a surgical apron, shooting him an angry glare. "Uh, no," the bird answered.

"Well, that's not that surprising. You know, I'm pretty sure, that the reason the Roman Empire fell, was the fact, that no one could learn their language anymore," he replied with a smirk.

"Alexander, we need your help with, hey wait, where's Kowalski?" the leader asked.

The monitor pointed behind his back, "In an isolated room, I expected someone to barge in on me, so I took precaution in order to keep everything sterile. I've prepped him for the surgery, but you interrupted me before I could begin."

"Oh, sorry about that," said the smallest penguin, "We just wanted to know what kind of dog that is," he pointed at Rico's back.

The reptile turned and had a look, "Well if it really is a dog, like you say it is, than it can only be the "Bob Marley" dog, also known as a Hungarian Puli," he explained.

"Skipper cocked his head, "And the whole mop head, dreadlock look?" he asked.

"The coat naturally forms these "cords". The breed was used for sheep herding and in case of a wolf attack, it served as a suit of armor, protecting it from harm," the water monitor explained and walked over to a sink, where he started washing his claws.

Rico scratched his bottom beak, "Hmm." The scene begins blurring away into a daydream.

**Start of Rico's Daydream**

An alarm goes off in the HQ and a light bathes all the walls, as well as the penguins, in a creepy red.

"Sweet salmon," swore the leader, "It finally happened."

"Skipper, they're coming from the east and will reach the gates in two minutes," reported Kowalski.

"We don't have much time. Private, activate the defense grid!"

"Aye aye Skippah!" he saluted and then waddled over to the control panel. He pressed some buttons and pulled a lever.

The scene cuts to the clock tower, which opens up and reveals the barrel of a turret. It rapidly begins firing some sort of projectiles, but is soon destroyed by a rocket.

"We just lost the cannon," reported Private.

"Shitake mushrooms! It looks like we'll have to take care of them the old fashioned way." Skipper, Kowalski and Private waddled over to the emergency evacuation launcher and pressed the button, which sent them flying.

They glided, using their flippers (It's a daydream, remember) and elegantly landed right outside the zoo. They raised their flippers in a defensive position, "Look sharp men!" ordered the captain, but suddenly, a rocket hit the ground right in front of them, and the explosion sent them flying back against the metal bars of the gate.

Skipper grabbed his throbbing head and opened his eyes. "They're here," he muttered. The ground began shaking as an army appeared on the horizon, but not just any army, an army of armed HIPPIES!

"I said that those flower-loving freaks would one day reach to arms, but they said I was crazy, that a hippie would never resort to violence, but now, now it's too late, and WE have to pay the price for our ignorance," the leader spoke, not caring if anyone was even listening.

"Science was wrong, their organisms can handle weapons, how could we have been so wrong with our calculations," Kowalski punched the ground.

The Private's eyes began watering, "Is it really over, *sob* is there no one who can help us?" the Private asked.

The captain shook his head, "I'm sorry Private, but the only one, who could stop them now, isn't-" the lead penguin was cut off by a screaming figure that landed right in front of them. It hit the ground with a loud thud and slowly stood up.

"Rico… is it really you?" Skipper asked.

The figure looked back over his shoulder and smirked, it showed them a very familiar scar. But he was different, instead of a mohawk, caressing his head, there were matted coils of feathers, reaching all the way to the ground, and were covering most of his body, with the exception of his white belly.

Smiles of hope formed on the three lying penguins' faces. He turned towards the army which all of the sudden stopped and they all pointed their weapons at him and began firing. Everything from rockets, grenades to bullets hit him, creating a giant cloud of smoke.

The armed hippies waited for it to clear and when it did, they all saw a black figure standing in the middle of the blast zone. Two flippers shot out of it and parted the locks, revealing the penguin underneath.

The hippies dropped their weapons and turned around to flee, but Rico regurgitated his bazooka and fired it at them. The rocket caused a huge explosion, which was followed by a rain of flowers.

He smiled and swallowed the weapon. The rest of the team got up and lifted him in the air "RICO! RICO! RICO!" they chanted.

**End of Rico's Daydream**

Back to reality, "I dun tink my fethas would row dat lon," said the weapons expert.

Skipper raised an eyebrow, "O-kay? Also, I think this guy needs medical attention as well," he said to the water monitor.

"Is he missing a limb?" Alexander asked.

"We aren't sure, we can't make heads or tails of his body with all this fur in the way," replied the Private.

"Fine, just leave him here and get out, I'll give him a check up when I'm done," said the reptile.

Rico dropped the unconscious dog on the ground and left the room with the other birds. Alexander bent over and gave the canine a quick look, "Hmm, you're a little far away from home, aren't you?"

The scene cuts to the three penguins, who jump out of the water monitor exhibit and slide off on their bellies. They leave the reptile house and return to the scene of the assault. "We need to take some photos and then make this all disappear," said the leader.

Rico regurgitated a camera and began taking pictures of Kowalski's blood on the floor, the torn T-shirt, the broken abacus and some claw marks. Next they picked up, and bagged, every piece of evidence they could find, if not for any other reason, so that nobody would find anything in the morning.

" Alright Rico, bleach the blood, so we can move on," the mohawk wielding bird regurgitated a bottle labeled "Sodium Hypochlorite" and began pouring it on every speck of blood he could find, before putting it away again. He then pulled out the end of a garden hose from his stomach and washed everything away.

Rico turned to his leader and saluted, "Good job! Now let's see where this, uh, this, uh…"

"Skull wolf," suggested the Private.

"No, that's not catchy enough," replied the leader.

"Demon doggie," grunted the maniac.

"No, not original enough - you know what, let's just forget about the name for now and focus on finding that thing," said the leader and slid off. He was immediately followed by the other birds and they disappeared into the darkness.

**There, no cliffhanger, I think. Marlene is alright, Kowalski is going to be alright and there's a mysterious new guest at the zoo. Hmm… I know what you're thinking: "There are only three possible scenarios here. Each one of them is sooo predictable."**

**Believe me, if I had come up with a plot that obvious, I wouldn't have published this thing in the first place. Hope you liked it and review!**


	4. It's in the Job Description

**4 – It's in the Job Description**

**I see that you all liked Rico's daydream. The story kinda wrote itself there, I was just the vessel whose fingers it moved. Thanks for the reviews and please enjoy this next chapter!**

Skipper stopped, remembering something, "Wait Private, you said that there weren't any footprints, right?" he asked.

The chubby bird nodded, "That's right sir, but it's just because the surface doesn't allow any."

"Of course not, but there was something else, scratch marks," the leader said. "I bet my right flipper that the trail that thing left us will lead right to him," he confidently stated. But it proved to be more of a challenge than originally anticipated.

"Please try and hold it steady Rico," the chubby bird said to his taller team mate, who was holding a flashlight. "Skippah, your shadow's in the way," he complained again. It was dark and they proceeded very slowly. The scratch marks were there, but they were small and since it was night, they were forced to light up the path and scan every square inch of it with a magnifying glass.

"It stops here," said Private.

"What do you mean, it stops here?" asked the leader with an angry glare.

"The last mark is just a few inches away from this small puddle of blood and then it all stops," explained Private.

The leader sighed and looked around, "Hey wait, this place seems familiar," he said.

Silence

"Um, I guess I'll fill in for Kowalski," the chubby penguin cleared his throat, "It's the zoo Skippah, every place should be familiar to us. It's our duty to know our working space."

"Yes, but it's like I've been here… recently, hey wait a minute, Asian otter exhibit? It's Marlene's place."

"Well we know that the wolf isn't here, we saw Marlene on this very spot, shortly after he had disappeared," replied Private.

"Uh-huh," Rico added, nodding his head.

"But she wasn't alone, remember the dog?" he asked his team mates.

"You don't think," the Private grabbed his bottom beak and began shaking.

The leader let out a sigh, "I don't want to believe it Private, but it seems like the only logical answer," his head dropped and he stared at the ground.

The Private waddled over to him and patted his back. "Are we going to confront her about it now, or should we do it in the morning?"

"I'll do it myself now, you clean the blood while I'm gone," Skipper replied and jumped over the walls of the otter exhibit. He entered the cave unannounced, as always, and headed directly towards the bed, where Marlene was just about to go to sleep.

"Oh hey Skipper *yawn* what brings you here?" she asked with drowsy eyes.

"*Sigh* Marlene, there's no easy way to tell you this, but I know you somehow turned into a monster tonight and assaulted my lieutenant, as well as a civilian."

"WHAT? How can you even think of something like that?" she asked, obviously angry with the accusation. "Wait, Kowalski's been attacked, by whom?"

"You don't need to play dumb, the trail lead us directly to you, but no matter what happens from here on forth, remember that I'll always love you."

"Aww, I love you to, but there's a teeny tiny hole in your theory. How could I have been the one who attacked Kowalski, when I was dancing with you at Julien's party, when the first scream was heard?" she said with a smirk.

Skipper's eyes widened, "Well I, uh, I, you, I mean, uh… sorry?" he tried with a wide grin.

Marlene just shook her head smiling, "Don't worry, when I entered this relationship, I expected things like this to happen."

"So I'm off the hook?"

"No, you'll have to make it up to me."

"Whatever you want, I promise, thank you," Skipper left the cave.

Marlene watched him slide off and then smiled. She was just about to go to lie down, when music started playing, "Oh you've got to be kidding me," she began stomping towards the exit, where the penguin trio was still standing. "Oh, skipper," she called.

The leader immediately turned towards her, "Yes dear?"

"Could you please go over to that neighbor of ours and politely ask him to turn down the volume?"

He saluted, "Yes ma'am!" and slid off together with his two team mates. They entered the lemur enclosure, where Skipper gave some hand, or rather flipper, signals and they headed out.

Somewhere on the rock, the lemur king was wearing a pair of headphones and was still tending to the turntable, even though he knew that there wasn't anyone, other than himself, there anymore, "Okay every peoples, dis party has only yet begun and I wish to be keeping it going for the rest of the night."

Skipper peeked from behind a corner. The sight of the lonely lemur was sort of sad, but being the nuisance he is, he didn't evoke any sympathy from the lead penguin. The music suddenly stopped and Julien looked around for the cause, but was instead met with a cloud of purple dust, "Party iz being over now," he said and slowly laid down on the ground, where he fell asleep.

Private waddled over to his leader, holding the end of an extension cord, and so did Rico, but with a grape jelly jar. "Well done men, I'm sure we just made a lot of animals very happy," he proclaimed. "Now, did you two gather everything from in front of Marlene's exhibit?"

"We did," the Private opened a photo album which he showed his leader, "Every scratch has been numbered and cataloged as well as that blood."

"Excellent, *yawn* let's just go check on Kowalski, before we go to sleep. The zoo will be opening soon and we have crowds to entertain." The three slid off towards the reptile house.

Alexander had just finished with the surgery and was washing his claws, when the three penguins barged in. "Can't you guys read Latin?" he asked again.

"I thought we already made that point clear," replied Skipper.

"Indeed we did, so how can I help you?" he asked drying his claws.

"We came to see Kowalski, how is he," the cheerful Private asked.

The reptile sighed and shook his head with a stern look, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but in order to have saved the leg, I had to cut off the body." He couldn't detain himself any longer and broke out in laughing. He received angry glares from the trio and finally calmed down. "Sorry, but I couldn't resist," he said wiping a tear from his eye.

"So is he going to be okay?" asked the leader again.

"I've dealt with limbs that were chopped up like a carrot in the middle of the battle field, where the most sterile thing was the bird shit that landed on the wound, and still did a pretty decent job. Sure, some lost a leg or an arm, but they lived, and in the end, that's all that matters… so uh, yes, I did manage to reattach the flipper, but it'll take some time for it to heal and even then he'll have to attend physical therapy for who knows how long."

"That's a relief, can we see him?" the little bird asked. Alexander showed them to some curtains, which he moved out of the way, revealing the sleeping scientist.

"Does he have to stay here for the day?" the leader asked.

"Whatever you want, I can just give him some M5050 to counteract the etorphine and wake him up from the coma now. And give him some painkillers for the road… but unfortunately they won't work until the M5050 isn't burned up."

"How about we just carry him to the HQ so he can rest there," suggested Skipper.

The reptile shrugged, "Sure, why not."

"Um, Alexandah, have you examined the, what did you call it again, Puli yet?" Private asked.

"No, I haven't," he replied and walked over to the sleeping dog, who was already lying on a table. Since the coat was in the medic's way, he stuck out his tongue to pick up the different molecules the body was emitting.

His Jacobson's organ finally found the thing he was looking, or rather smelling, for, blood. He parted the locks on the front right paw and found a rather deep wound. The bleeding had stopped already, but the wound was still rather fresh, "That's about all I can get at the moment, unless I proceed to a more in-depth analysis."

Rico immediately regurgitated a barber's razor blade and shaving cream, before starting the chainsaw still tapped to his flipper. He topped it all off with a deranged laughter.

"Actually, what I meant was an x-ray," explained the water monitor.

"Aww," the maniac was sad, and he re-swallowed the items.

Private heard a faint groan, he looked at the dog and saw some slight movement, "I think he's waking up," he said.

The others turned their attention to the canine as well and saw his movement. Alexander moved away a few locks, where his head was, and revealed an eye which slowly began opening. "Are you alright?" the shortest bird asked.

"My… my muzzle… why does it hurt?" the Puli muttered.

The water monitor reached towards the dog's muzzle and applied some pressure to it, the Puli responded with a flinch and a slight yellp. "There might be a fracture there, but I'll really need that x-ray to make sure. No point in cutting him open for something like that," the lizard said.

"Can we leave him here, while the zoo's open?" Skipper asked.

"Sure, but I seriously don't know why we even bother with the visitors, it's almost as if, on some days, we don't even have to show up, because no one's there. What's up with that?"

"So you've noticed. The important thing is that we're in our place when someone's watching, the rest of the time, we can do whatever we please," replied the leader.

"*Gasp* does that mean I can watch the rerun of the special Halloween episode of the Lunacorns?" Private asked all excited.

Skipper rolled his eyes, but didn't answer. "You got any stretchers?" he asked the medic.

Alexander left the room and quickly returned with the requested item. Together with Rico, they got the unconscious Kowalski onto the transportation device and then Skipper took over. The birds left with their team mate, leaving the unconscious, or tired, dog and the reptile behind.

The water monitor went over to a cabinet and took a vial of a clear substance. He filled a syringe with its contents and then walked back over to the dog, "Melatonin, also known as the sleeping hormone, this is just a little something to help you get some shuteye, while I'm not around." He emptied the syringe and then disposed of it.

He took off the surgical robe and quickly cleaned everything up from the surgery. When he finally took a look at the time, "Five minutes 'till opening hours," he said and made his way upstairs.

At the penguin HQ, the birds had set up an emergency hospital bed, which Rico had regurgitated… somehow, and laid down Kowalski on it.

"I hope he wakes up soon, I just couldn't imagine a team without him, who would I look up to if both The Archer and Kowalski failed as my idols?" Private asked.

Skipper wrapped a flipper around the short penguin's shoulders, "I'm sure that there's at least one more animal in your life that would live up to your expectations."

"I know, but Rico doesn't possess the diplomatic skill, which would get him through life without wasting time on unnecessary quarrels, and he doesn't like tea."

Skipper's eye twitched, but he quickly shook it off, "Let's head up, with a bird down, we'll have to put extra effort in today's performances." With that, the trio left the underwater base.

**I wonder if a man could live a normal life without the part of the brain producing melatonin. Just to think how much more time you'd have to do the things you wanted and with everybody else sleeping, you could do them in perfect peace. Hope you liked the chapter and review!**


	5. Wake up Sleepyhead

**5 – Wake up Sleepyhead**

**Sup people, long time no update, sorry about that. Thanks for all the reviews, here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

"Um Skippah, does something seem odd to you?" Private asked.

"Well now that you mention it, I'm still awake, even though I haven't had my morning coffee," the leader replied.

"Well yes, that is odd, but I meant something else."

"What?"

"Well, why are all these people standing at our habitat? It's an unusually big crowd compared to the school groups we usually get," the chubby bird explained.

Skipper scratched his bottom beak. The kid was right; there really was an increased amount of people here. "Hmm, did I forget to wear pants again?"

The chubby bird looked down at his leader's lower half, "No, Skippah, but perhaps that's the problem here."

The captain looked down and was bug-eyed by the surprise, "HOLY HERRING, WE FORGOT TO TAKE OFF OUR COSTUMES!" the leader shouted. The remaining team members were startled at first, but then realized the same thing. In their haste they failed to remember to take off their outfits.

The humans didn't understand the penguins' squawking, which is why Skipper's yell remained unnoticed by them. They all admired the "cute" costumes they were wearing, in spite of it being the day after Halloween. They began taking out their cell phones and taking pictures of the trio.

"We have to do something now!" Skipper ordered, "I need options!" He was met with the shrugs from the other two, "Ok… new plan."

"Bettah make it quick, Alice is coming," Private pointed out.

The lead penguin turned around to see the red-haired zookeeper approaching, "Hoover dam," he muttered and turned back to the birds. "We need a distraction, Rico, Thunder Over Louisville, NOW!" he demanded.

The maniac saluted, with the flipper, which was still carrying the chainsaw, and turned his open beak upwards. A fireworks flew out of the depths of his stomach, and were followed by the gazes of the masses. Alice saw it go up as well and narrowed her eyes in rage, "Penguins," she muttered and made a dash towards the central exhibit.

"AHA!" she cheered, pointing at the penguins, but her smile quickly disappeared again, when she noticed that everything was in order. There were four birds standing on top of the artificial ice floe, wearing nothing but their feather coats. She shot them a last angry glare and turned around to leave. She was grumbling something to herself, which made some parents cover their children's ears.

Once the firework show, which wasn't that amazing in the daylight, was over, the people looked back down to see the plain old rookery of flightless birds. They each let out an "AW" in disappointment and walked away.

Skipper glanced from side to side, making sure the coast was clear, and then exchanged high-fives with his soldiers, "Good job men, especially you Rico."

"Eh, no big deel," the maniac replied. He felt some gasses building up in his stomach and belched. The "Sherlock Holmes" hat escaped his beak and landed on the ground in front of him. "Sowy," he said and quickly picked it up again.

The "newest" addition to the team fell over and Private quickly picked it up again. It was one of their usual doppelgangers, posing as their scientist.

The leader rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, "I guess these things can happen to anyone, just be careful next time."

"Skippah, can we go and visit Kowalski now?" Private asked.

"Not yet, it's barely an hour into the shift, we'll at least have to wait until the people have their lunch brakes," he explained.

**About 9-8 hours later**

The team drops into their headquarters. They are completely exhausted as they lurch directly into their bunks, forgetting about their wounded lieutenant. Skipper's eyelids were heavy, they began closing by themselves and he stopped resisting the message his body was sending him. "Night, night…" he whispered to himself and began dozing off.

A loud screech ripped through the HQ, startling everyone in the process and causing them to fall out of their bunks, "Why were you sleeping, it's only six." The lead penguin opened his eyes and looked up to see a familiar water monitor, holding a small chalkboard, with his claws pressed against it, looking at him. The bird picked himself up and dusted off his feathers.

"Do I need to remind you that I'm your superior officer and that we didn't get any sleep yesterday?" Skipper asked with a glare.

"You could've used my technique," suggested Alexander.

"What's that?" Private eagerly asked.

"Lie down underneath the UV light and sleep during visiting hours."

"But what about all the people, they come here to see a show, we can't just lie around doing nothing," the chubby bird replied in confusion.

"Have you been to the reptile house?" the water monitor asked, "No one moves. It's all part of the mysterious, cool, reptile nature," he explained, "But I get why you can't just go and do the same thing, warm-blooded animals seem to need to meet greater expectations."

"So is there any reason for your visit?" Skipper asked, "We were supposed to meet after sunset."

"Yes," he replied and walked over to a hospital bed. Skipper realized what he meant and joined him. Alexander checked for Kowalski's pulse and some other vitals.

"So… how is he?" Skipper asked.

Alexander let go of the flipper, "Well, he still seems to be running a mild fever, but I'm sure we needn't worry about it. Other than that, he looks fine and as far as I can tell, he might even wake up by himself sometime next week."

Skipper smiled, "Good, *yawn*," he looked over at the fishbowl entrance, which was left open by Alexander, when he came over, and saw that there was no more light shining through it. He let out a sigh, "Looks like it's time for the re- *yawn* -con… let's go," he ordered.

With no enthusiasm whatsoever, he waddled over to the ladder, followed by the remaining team, and exited the HQ, leaving their unconscious friend alone.

They were making their way towards the clock tower, "Need anything to help you stay awake?" Alexander asked Skipper.

The leader slapped his forehead, "My coffee, Hoover dam, I forgot about it again," he grumbled.

The water monitor chuckled, "Then looks like this is going to be more of a camping trip than an actual recon."

He received a slap from his leader, "No dice soldier, we don't know where the, uh…"

"The vertex wolf," suggested the reptile.

"Vertex? Don't you mean vortex? And what does that even have to do with the fact that that thing had no skin on its head?" Skipper questioned.

"No, I was quite correct, I did mean vertex. It's the highest point of skull," he explained, "and it was the only thing I could find that rhymed… well that and doom doggie."

"Rico already gave me that one," the leader replied.

"Oh, right, never mind then."

"Ok, where was I?"

"You said that we don't know where, Skippah," the Private answered.

"Right," he cleared his throat before continuing, "We don't know where the thing, whose name we are yet to come up with, went. There were no attacks during the day, which means we'll have to be on our toes tonight. Every villain returns to the scene of the crime and my gut's telling me something big's going down in the next few hours."

They reached the base of the clock tower. Skipper stopped and turned around to face his team, "I don't think I need to remind you of what happened to one of our fellow birds approximately 20 hours ago?" Everyone shook their head. "Good, now I want you to report back immediately if you even dream about seeing that thing."

Private raised a flipper and Skipper gave him the word, "Does that mean we can sleep?"

"Of course it doesn't Private, I was using metaphors," the leader explained. "Ahem, no one is to engage the enemy alone. We need to protect our fellow zoo inhabitants, but we can't forget about our own safety. One more thing, I don't want a "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" scenario, understand?" he asked and received synchronized nods in response.

"Good, Alexander, you take the roof of the reptile house, Rico, take Private and set up surveillance on top of the Zoovenier shop, I'll stay here on top of the clock tower," everyone saluted. "Rico, link us up," the maniac regurgitated four wireless Bluetooth earphones. "Head out men and good luck," everyone vent in a separate direction.

Skipper scaled the clock tower. Once on top, he got a good look at the entire zoo. He could see every enclosure from that spot and he smiled, "There's no way that thing's getting away this time," he said to himself and waddled over to the bell. He bent over and pulled a pair of binoculars from underneath it, before returning to his surveillance spot.

Private and Rico were already on top of the Zoovenier shop. They were each standing in their own corner of the roof, looking at their own part of the zoo. The smaller bird felt a yawn building up, but he suppressed it. He glanced over to the maniac and tried to think of a conversation topic, which would help pass the time, "So, uh, are you afraid of the cranium canine?" he asked.

Rico lowered his binoculars and looked over to his team mate, "Nu-uh," he replied shaking his head. Of course the maniac wasn't afraid of something a meager as tissueless wolf. They continued with their surveillance.

At the top of the reptile house, Alexander was searching through hi duffel bag, which he grabbed before scaling the walls, from his habitat. If the scenario from the previous night was to repeat itself, he would be better prepared for it, but he really hoped that it wouldn't come to it.

He found what he was looking for, a diamond coated knife sharpener. He observed its sparkle in the moonshine and then began sharpening his claws. He indeed hoped that the scenario from the previous night wouldn't repeat itself, but for all the wrong reasons. As a combat medic, he had responsibilities, which prevented his pursuit of the beast. That thing was getting no mercy on their next encounter.

Meanwhile, inside the water monitor exhibit, a black bundle of locks began moving. Groaning was heard emanating from it as it slowly gained in height. It shook its coat and then made a 360 degree turn around its axle to het a picture of the room it was in. Once it began moving, you could finally tell which end the head was on. It limped towards the door and stopped at the frame. It leaned against it and gasped for air.

"N-no, it can't b-be happening already, it's t-too soon. I can't go through another one," he, since the voice was obviously male, said and collapsed.

Meanwhile, in the penguins HQ, a rather tall bird was lying in a hospital bed, sleeping peacefully, until. His eyes shot open, he rolled out of the bed and fell on the floor. He hit it hard with the recently reattached flipper. The penguin immediately felt the pain, but he did his best and ignored it.

He wasn't feeling good, it was hot and he was sweating. Kowalski grabbed his forehead and felt the heat it was radiating. He struggled with getting up on his feet and slowly waddled over to the ladder. The air in the HQ was suffocating him, he needed to get out fast. He supported his body against the wall until he finally reached the ladder, but the climb was another challenge. He looked at the bandaged flipper and remembered exactly what it felt like being severed.

It was terrible, to simply not feel the presence of something, as your own limb, anymore.

He struggled getting out, with only one flipper, but eventually reached the top. He crawled out of the fishbowl-sized hole and laid down on the concrete flow. He looked up at the sky and noticed the full moon. It was almost hypnotizing, he continued observing the celestial body for several minutes when another jolt of pain surged through his body.

He grabbed the bandaged shoulder, feeling the pain originating from it, "WHAT is HAppening to me?" he asked as his body began seizing.

**Here's the part where you got the story all figured out, but like I said, I'm not doing that. Hope you liked it and review!**


	6. Curiosity

**6 – Curiosity**

**Hey there people, I'm not really sure if this story's worth my time anymore, it really doesn't have that many readers, but don't worry, I'm not abandoning it. As you can see, I've changed the summary. Thank you for the reviews, I'll use the "Hell Hound" suggestion, thanks Pyromaniac24. Enjoy!**

Skipper stood on top of the clock tower, he felt the full weight of his eyelids pressing down, trying to get him to sleep, but he was too stubborn to give in to the temptation. He knew what he was like after a severe sleep withdrawal, but it was just two nights, the symptoms don't even appear until night six. He put down his binoculars and yawned. "Come on gut, don't leave me hangin', where's the action?" he asked.

A voice sounded through the earphone, _"Skipper! Come in!"_

The lead penguin immediately recognized it and responded, "What is it Alexander, have you spotted our big bad wolf?" he asked.

_"Yes, he's here facing off against Roy. I'm sure the big guy can fend for himself, but we better go in and do something."_

"Hold your position soldier," Skipper ordered, "You have your orders, do not engage until the group is fully assembled." He jumped off the top of the clock tower and slid as fast as he could. "Private, come in," he called into the phone.

_"But mommy, I don't want to go to military school," _mumbled a voice on the other side.

"PRIVATE!" the leader yelled.

A scream was heard on the other side, followed by a short pause. Private seemed to have been sleeping up until now and was woken up by his leader. He needed some time to realize what was going, before finally answering, _"Oh, Skippah, it's you, what is it?"_ he asked.

"The enemy has been spotted, rally at the rhinoceros exhibit as soon as possible, understand?"

_"Aye aye, Skippah!"_ said the chubby bird on the other side and hung up.

On top of the reptile house, Alexander was shivering in anticipation. There was a bloodthirsty look in his eye as he watched the skull headed wolf circle around the horned pachyderm. Roy was just following him with his glare.

"A little late for Halloween, aren't we?" the three thousand pound mammal asked. Naturally, he didn't get any other response from the canine other than his growl. In a blink of an eye, the wolf launched itself on the back of the rhino and began putting his teeth and claws to work. He tried piercing the skin over and over again, he shook his head, trying to tear off portions of it, but his efforts yielded no results.

It didn't hurt Roy, but he was getting annoyed by the beast, "Could you stop that?" he politely asked. "Please?" he tried again, but was ignored. He sighed, "You asked for it," Roy just let himself fall over. With the wolf's current position, two of its paws would've gotten caught up underneath the rhino, but the canine jumped off in the nick of time.

The beast landed next to the rhino, growling. Roy hit the ground hard and shockwaves spread from the point of impact, but the pachyderm was already getting up. "Don't think you're off the hook yet," he hissed and shot the canine a death glare, "Because you're going on the horn." He broke into a charge, but due to his mass, he couldn't reach much speed in the time it took him to reach the beast. The wolf simply sidestepped and avoided the charge, before once again jumping on the rhino's back. He let out a groan in annoyance, "Not this again."

"That's IT!" Alexander exclaimed and jumped off the roof. He hit the ground hard and immediately went into a sprint towards the rhino habitat. He quickly got to its wall and jumped it. "HEY FIDO!" he called and got the wolf's immediate attention. "Why don't you pick on someone smaller than you," he taunted.

The wolf turned towards him and broke into a charge. The water monitor spread out his front legs, revealing his underbelly, and waited for the impact. "BRING IT!" he yelled and formed his evil smile.

An explosion stopped the beast's charge and the smoke from it made the reptile cover his eyes. Skipper, together with Private and Rico, who was holding his bazooka, appeared on the wall surrounding the habitat. "I thought the orders were clear?" he asked with an angry glare.

Alexander shrugged, "What can I say, my gut told me to help the rhino," he answered with a smirk.

Skipper narrowed his eyes and turned towards the smoke. It was slowly clearing revealing a dark figure standing in its midst. It was of course, the wolf. He seemed unfazed by the attack, with the exception of the orbits, which still had smoke coming out of them. The canine turned towards the wall, where the attack came from, and spotted the trio of birds.

Private began shaking at the sight of the monster. The memories of its attack on his team mate rushed through his mind. He made a step back in fear.

The lead penguin noticed the reaction of the youngest bird and decided to act. He jumped towards the wolf, trying to get a good kick at him, but the monster avoided it. Skipper landed on the ground and tried a punch next, but this thing seemed to know his every move, and avoided it as well. "Rico, let's see what the catch of the day's going to be," he suggested.

The maniac got the message and chuckled to himself. He then spit out a fishing net, which flew directly at the wolf. It didn't seem to have noticed it yet and was in for a surprise.

Unfortunately for the penguins, it wasn't the surprise they had planned. The wolf was tackled from the side, by none other than the angry habitat owner Roy. "That's for waking me up," he snarled. The monster was sent flying and hit the wall of the habitat. The impact left some cracks in the red bricks. Rico's net wrapped itself around the rhino's horn instead of hitting its target.

"Why in Lady Liberty's name did you do that? We had it all under control," Skipper asked infuriated by the pachyderm.

"He had it coming," Roy simply replied and received a growl from the leader.

The wolf was slowly getting up and shook its head. Alexander observed him and licked his lips, "Time to die," he whispered to himself and started for the wolf, which noticed his charge and jumped over the wall. "If it's a chase you want…"

He was just about to follow when, "MEDIC!" Skipper called.

The reptile was once again stopped in his tracks. He wanted to curse so badly right now, but he contained himself and slowly turned around. "Yes, what is it?" he asked with a smile and a twitch in his eye.

"Roy here needs medical attention," he pointed at the rhino. Alexander sighed and walked over to his patient. "Take care of him and the mean time, we'll hunt down that hell hound."

"Do we have to Skippah? He kinda gives me the willies," the private asked.

The leader rolled his eyes, "Fine, stay here and help Alexander. Rico, let's go!" The two left the habitat and engaged in pursuit.

The chubby bird walked over to his reptile friend, "So, uh, is Roy okay?" he asked.

"Yes, he'll live, just some scratches, there isn't even any blood. I have no idea why Skipper didn't let me chase the wolf. If it were up to me, he'd be contained already," he replied.

"So what now?" the penguin asked.

"Well we could go and check in on the Puli, I haven't had time to look at him ever since I put him to sleep."

Private let out a shriek.

"I meant put him to sleep literally, not euthanasia," the medic explained.

"Oh, that's a relief… What's euthanasia?" Private innocently asked.

"Can I go to sleep now?" the rhino asked.

"Oh, of course, good night Roy!" the Private waved as they left.

Meanwhile, with Skipper and Rico, the two flightless birds were sliding after the wolf. They first headed towards the penguin exhibit, then circled around it and headed back to where they came from. The lead penguin could see the distance between them and their target increasing, but with the reptile house coming up in front of them, he didn't worry about it.

"Get ready to capture that thing as soon as we stop," he said to Rico, who enthusiastically nodded.

The wolf wasn't slowing down and the captain was getting worried, "What are you up too?" he asked himself and saw the canine jump. The beast somehow managed to get on the roof, of the building, in a single leap. They came to a stop and were left dumbfounded, "Did he just?"

"Yup," the maniac replied.

Skipper shook it off, "Come on, let's go, we can still catch him on the other side," he ordered. The two jumped on their bellies again and slid off. They went around the reptile house, but once they got there, their target was gone again.

"Oh come on," the leader complained. He stomped his foot in anger and turned around, but something tugged on his feathers. He turned around to see Rico pointing at something.

"Look," he grunted.

The maniac was pointing at an area beneath a streetlamp. The captain narrowed his eyes and recognized the figure, "Kowalski," he exclaimed and rushed over to his fellow avian. He quickly reached him and picked him up, "Speak to me man," he demanded and put his head on his chest. He heard a steady beat and was calm again. "Rico, do you still have the stretchers?" he asked.

The maniac nodded and regurgitated the requested item. They put their team mate on the transportation device and carried him off.

Back with Private and Alexander, they entered the reptile house, but were surprised at the sight, "Why is my habitat open?" The two rushed to it and enter the terrarium. They descended into the lower levels and checked the rooms of the underground levels.

"It looks like everything's still here," Private reported.

"EveryTHING is here, but not everyONE," the lizard replied and went to the infirmary. The Hungarian Puli was missing. He looked for any signs of where he might have gone, but there was nothing. He quickly stuck out his forked tongue, over where the dog was lying, and picked up the scent. "Follow me," he motioned and ran out of the exhibit.

They exited the reptile house, where Alexander stopped. He stuck his tongue out a few more times and then grabbed the Private.

"What are you doing?" the chubby bird asked.

The water monitor smiled evilly, "Fly little Private, fly," he hurled the bird up on the roof of the building and then began climbing it himself.

The penguin belly flopped on the roof and got up again, "Ouchy," he muttered, rubbing his beak and looked around. His eyes widened when he saw the bundle of locks, that was the Puli, leaned against the edge of the roof. He waddled up to him and bent over, "Are you okay?" he asked.

There was a delayed response from the dog, but his eyes slowly opened, "Huh, who are you? Where am I?" he asked.

Alexander reached the top and saw the scene. He began walking towards them. He glanced to his left and saw his duffel bag, 'Right, I left it up here,' he remembered. He walked up to the dog and bent over, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"What's with all the questions?" the dog complained, and rubbed his eyes with his paws. "Yes I'm alright, now could someone please tell me where I am?" he asked again.

The reptile and bird exchanged confused looks.

"You're at the Central park zoo, we found you hurt and Alexandah treated you," the penguin replied.

"Oh, well thanks for that," he tried getting up, but winced in pain.

Alexander quickly examined the reaction, "I assume it's your ribs," he said and helped him up, by supporting him with his own body.

They walked over to an airvent leading back inside. There were several questions going through his mind right now, but he shook off his curiosity and focused on getting inside.

Meanwhile Skipper and Rico carried Kowalski into the reptile house through the front gates and saw the dog, the medic and the smallest penguin drop into the water monitor exhibit. The leader had his own set of questions going through his head, but he was sure they were going to be answered sooner or later.

"We need a medic!" he yelled waddling towards the exhibit.

**I'm not really sure how many updates I'll manage this week, but I promise I'll give it my best. Hope you liked it and leave a review!**


	7. Analysis

**7 – Analysis**

**I added the "humor" to the genre. I think it's the right thing to do, seeing your reviews. Enjoy!**

Alexander heard the call from behind and sighed. He kicked open the glass, for the other penguins, and proceeded to the underground portion of his exhibit. He was supporting the Puli, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, and was beginning to be a pain to carry. He got him back to the infirmary and laid him on a table. Skipper soon joined him with the other patient.

"Why did you bring Kowalski? I thought I told you to let him wake up on his own."

"We found him while losing sight of the wolf. He was just lying there on the ground," Skipper replied.

He and Rico brought him over to another table and put him down there. The water monitor scratched his bottom jaw, while looking at the tallest bird.

"What are you thinking about?" Skipper asked.

"I'm wondering how he got out of the habitat," the reptile replied.

"Maybe he woke up and waddled out by himself," suggested the Private, "and later he got tired and fell asleep."

Skipper narrowed his eyes and glared at the Private, before opening them once again and placing his flippers on his hips, "Sounds completely reasonable to me." He then looked over to the dog, which was now snoring, worse than Marlene, indicating that he was asleep, "What about that guy? Where'd he wander off to?"

"We found him on the roof," Private quickly replied.

It didn't take a genius to piece these things together. Skipper observed the sleeping dog, his chest slowly rising and falling. 'Could it be, is it even possible?' he asked himself, but shook it off. "Well, I did say that magic was real," he said out loud. He quickly realized this and looked around to see the confused looks of the other animals.

"Uh… you didn't hear anything," he said, waving with his flippers in the air. Skipper slid out of the habitat and left his team behind.

Private watched him leave and then asked: "What was that all about?"

Rico shrugged, "Beets me!" he grunted.

"So, are you taking Kowalski with you?" Alexander asked.

"Sure, he might wake up again," replied Private and together with Rico, they stretchered their friend. "Good night Alexandah!" the chubby bird waved goodbye and left together with his mohawk wielding team mate.

Once they were out of sight, the water monitor put on a more serious expression and turned towards the sleeping dog. He crossed his front legs on his chest and was thinking. "How did you burn through the drug so fast?" he asked out loud.

The explanation eluded the reptile's mind at the moment, but he had a hunch. As for the fact that the dog was on the roof, well, he was in for some more thinking. He yawned and felt his organism telling him that it needed some time off. He happily obliged by jumping on the surgical table and falling asleep.

Rico and Private carried their team mate to their HQ. It was tricky getting him over the moat and inside, but having done it before, they managed to do it quite fast. Once inside, they found darkness, "Strange, hasn't Skippah returned yet?" Private asked.

He searched for the light switch and flipped it. The entire base lit up and revealed its emptiness, "Hmm, I guess not," he replied to himself. The two got Kowalski over to the bed, where he laid before, and tucked him in again. They took special care around his bandaged flipper.

"Good night Kowalski *yawn*, I hope you're all better in the morning," the two conscious birds turned around and walked over to their bunks, where they followed the examples of their team mate. It was nice to feel the cold hard concrete bed they missed in the last two days.

They immediately fell asleep, completely forgetting about their captain, who had plans of his own.

On top of the reptile house, a short dark figure was walking across the roof, looking at certain parts of it, and lighting them up with a flashlight. Skipper walked over to the east side of the roof, "This is where he landed after jumping," he said out loud and flashed his light. There were clearly visible scratch marks, where the beast had been.

"Note to self, get that thing a manicure after we catch it," he followed the marks until they disappeared again. He scratched his bottom beak and tried connecting all the dots, "We follow you, you jump up here and then you disappear." He turned off his flashlight, "And later on I talk to my medic, who found a dog on top of the reptile house."

He smirked, but the expression was hidden by the darkness, "I think I've got this all figured out." He looked over to the clock tower and saw the time. "Better hurry up and try getting some shut eye before opening hours." He jumped off the small building and returned to his habitat. He dropped through the fishbowl entrance and yawned.

Skipper saw his sleeping team mates and smiled. They were so tired that they remained completely unfazed by the metal screech of the fishbowl. He jumped into his bunk and fell fast asleep.

They say that dreams allow the repressed parts of the mind to be satisfied through fantasy. How about we have a look at what's going through Skipper's mind.

**Begin of Skipper's Dream**

An explosion goes off and raises a mountain of dirt. We find ourselves in the midst of a battlefield. Machinegun fire deafens our ears for the voices of our friends. In a trench, somewhere in the middle of it all, surrounded by razor wire, were three penguins. Two were sitting, while the last one was up, looking over the top of the trench.

An explosion goes off and chunks of dirt are thrown at the trio. The standing penguin sits down next to his mates. "Status report Johnson, what have you got?" Skipper, the bird in the middle demanded.

"Not good, it's like a hail of lead out there. The tower's a hundred feet away, but we'd never make it."

"Hoover dam!" Skipper turned to the other bird, "Manfredi, how much ammo have we got left?"

"Enough for me, but as far as you guys go, you'll have to figure it out on your own," replied the penguin.

A shot goes off and Skipper shields his face. He fell something warm hit it and hesitates before removing his flipper. He sees his comrade who just shot himself. "*Gasp* MANFREDI! WHY? WHY DID YOU KILL YOURSELF? CURSE YOU WAR!" he ranted into the sky.

He received a tap on the shoulder and turned around. It was Johnson, "Hey, calm down, we're dead already, this is all just a dream, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but I was trying to sound convincing," replied Skipper and stood up to have a look at the tower. "So, what should we do?" he asked.

"Well, my grandmother's stepmother was half Japanese, so I'm going to commit seppuku, right after you leave, but what you should do is…"

The scene switches to outside the hiding place, as Skipper jumps out and begins sliding towards his destination. "HONOR… and shit!" is heard from where he left and is followed by a groan, "Should've gone with death by overdose instead."

There were two parallel trenches, one on each of Skipper's sides, belonging to different armies. He slid between them and when the soldiers spotted him, they began firing. But he was too fast for them. Instead of hitting him, the two sides shot each other.

Skipper reached the tower without as much as a single scratch. "I guess it was easier than I thought. He kicked down the door and saw the horrible site in front of him. "CURSE YOU ARCHITECT!" he ranted again. There was a spiral stairway right to the top, the only weakness of a kneeless animal. But he couldn't let himself be stopped, so he proceeded. There was a lot more jumping involved than he would've wanted, but he didn't complain, at least there were no enemies. He reached the top, where he found another door and kicked it down as well. "Aw crêpe" he cursed.

At the top, he found a Wild boar, with a finely groomed mustache beneath his snout, aiming a gun at a tied up otter. Marlene was looking at Skipper, her eyes were watering from the joy of seeing him. Skipper focused on the swine that was holding her,

"Let her go!" ordered Skipper, "This is between you and me Boar Hitler." The pig threw down his gun and charged at the penguin. Skipper waited to the last moment then moved out of the way and tripped him.

Boar Hitler was sent tumbling down the spiral staircase, squealing some curse words in German along the way. Skipper rushed over to Marlene and quickly untied her. She jumped up and hugged him, "Thanks," she said holding back further tears.

Skipper pulled back, and looked her deeply in the eyes, "No matter where you are, or what danger may lie ahead, I'll always be there to save you," he said and went in for the kiss.

**End of Skipper's Dream**

Yes, in the midst of it all, the attacks, the pain, suffering and chaos, Skipper did manage to muster up a pretty nice dream to calm himself down. But it's sad, you know, you aren't aware of it, but the moment you wake up, you forget 50 percent of your dreams, and in the next ten minutes, that number rises to 90.

Outside the habitat, the sun was slowly begging to rise. That glorious nuclear reactor in the midst of the vacuum we call space. It bathes us with its radiation and enables life on Earth. Some of that electromagnetic shone though the portholes. The rays slowly crawled across the floor and reached the bed where the genius bird was lying.

He was completely still. Are a person's mental functions active while he's in a coma or unconscious? If it were so, without a body to tend to, one could accomplish amazing feats while in such a state, but let's leave that now.

The genius bird sat up, gasping for air. He was breathing hard, cold sweat running down the sides of his head, and looked around. Whatever little light there was, helped him in making out various shapes around him. He heard the breathing of his team mates and deducted that they were all asleep. He felt his dry throat and walked over to a sink, where he poured himself a glass of water. He quickly gulped it all down and panted afterwards.

He felt his stern and realized his fever was gone, but something else as well. The flipper he felt it with, it was the one that was bandaged, and it didn't hurt. He looked around and spotted the metal door leading to his lab. He slid over to it and entered.

After turning on all available lights, he sat down and began undoing the bandages. They were all still stained with his blood and were sticking to his feathers. He carefully removed all of them and was left shocked in the end, the wound was completely healed. He knew there should at least be some sort of scar or something.

After all, the flipper was torn clean off, it had to have been reattached, it made no sense to him; why was it alright already? A thought struck him and he searched around for a watch. He found one under a stack of paper, but it was just as he thought, "November the second, 48 hours after the amputation, how is this possible?"

He grabbed the sides of his head, panicking slightly, he tried thinking of the last thing he remembered: Being carried off, before going into shock, no that wasn't it; waking up in the middle of the operation and panicking, no that wasn't it either; waking up later at the HQ?

He let go of his head, he could recall falling out of bed and somehow getting out of the habitat. Then there was the pain and from there on, nothing.

Science couldn't help him here, there was no logical explanation for the phenomenon; the black out, the newly found powers… After an hour of thinking, he gave up, the penguin decided to turn his back to everything he believed in, and try the one thing he had left, the illogical. He went to his computer and did some searching, not about the "Hound of Baskerville" wannabe, but about horror movies.

Guy gets bitten, monster gets killed, attacks continue, turns out, guy became the monster.

In the end, it all made sense, there was only one answer to it all, "By Jove, it's me, I'm the Mutilating Mutt."

**I hope you aren't bothered by my occasional scientific outbursts. In case you are, I'll exclude them in the future. I added some Skilene, but I'm sure you noticed, hope you liked it and review!**


	8. Third Time's the Charm

**8 – Third Time's the Charm**

**Thanks for the reviews. I noticed I messed up something in the previous chapter. It's nothing significant, just the time Kowalski said it took him to heal the wound. It was 24 hours, not 48, sorry about that. There are about two more chapters to this… I think. Enjoy!**

Kowalski sat behind his computer, still in shock due to his discovery, when he heard a yawn coming from somewhere outside the lab. "What the deuce? Where'd that egghead wander off to this time?" The genius bird recognized Skipper's voice and quickly shut down his computer. He then searched his lab for a first aid kit and found one.

Kowalski wrapped up his flipper and then pretended to be cradling it. The metal door slowly crept open and through the crack peeked Skipper. "There you are!" he fully opened the door and entered, "It's good to see you up and running again."

Kowalski turned around on his chair, with a smirk, hiding his nervousness, "Not quite, you know we penguins can't run, we waddle," he replied.

The captain just slowly shook his head, "Good to know those painkillers didn't mess up your brain, but tell me, how are you feeling?"

He obviously couldn't tell the truth and pretending to be a pain could backfire on him, so the best thing he could up with, was changing the subject, "I doubt that this is the appropriate time to be concerned about the wellbeing of a single individual. Instead I would propose you update me on the latest zoo status. I suggest we start with the beast that amputated my flipper, is it still in the zoo?"

Something smelled fishy to the leader; Kowalski was never big on revenge. Was there another reason for his sudden interest in the wolf over everything else, "The day after your attack…"

"Actually, I think you mean the day of the day of my attack. The assault took place at 0400 hours, so technically, it all happened early yesterday in the morning," the lieutenant corrected, removing any suspicions his leader had before.

"Right, now like I said, yesterday," he waited for a nod from the scientist and the continued, "There were no attacks, assaults or sightings of our "Man's best friend, penguin's worst enemy," during the day, but about an hour after midnight, we spotted him attacking Roy," Skipper explained.

Kowalski quickly connected the dots, 'So it would appear I only become the beast at night and during the day I remain an avian, interesting.' He realized there was something waving in front of his eyes and snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh, what?" he asked in confusion.

"I asked you if you'll be skipping today's training?" the leader repeated.

"I think it would accelerate my healing process if I did so," he replied.

"I agree, now how about we go over to the reptile house. There's someone I want to have a word with," he turned towards the exit and was followed by the taller bird.

Kowalski caught up to him and the two of them left the enclosure. "May I ask what Alexander did?" he asked, assuming that was the reason for their visit.

"No, it's not about the water monitor, it's about our little guest. I have some theories I'd like to check," the captain replied.

"Guest?"

"Oh right, you don't know, after the attack we recovered a pooch, he was injured and our medic took care of him," Skipper explained.

'Oh no, was he a victim of my senseless rampage. No, it must have been the original wolf, I doubt I was conscious at that time,' he thought. "Uh, was he attacked by the same scientifically inexplicable abomination as myself?" Kowalski asked as the two entered the reptile house.

"I doubt it," Skipper replied, 'Because you can't attack yourself,' he thought.

The duo reached the water monitor exhibit and entered it. They descended into the lower level and found the reptile and mammal, both sleeping in the infirmary. "What wouldn't I give for a Cobra 6 right now," Skipper said to himself and waddled over to the lizard. He gave him a slap and watched him jump out of his slumber, frantically looking around.

"Oh, it's you," he then spotted Kowalski, "And my other patient, who has miraculously already recovered. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Him!" Skipper pointed at the Puli, who was still snoring.

The captain received questioning looks from everyone around him, "Uh, okay? But he's still sleeping," the monitor replied.

"Then wake him up!" the lead bird ordered.

Alexander shrugged and went over to a cabinet, where he took a small paper package. He placed it in front of the dog's muzzle and snapped it in half. The canine took a deep breath and his eyes opened. He looked around and saw the three animals staring at him, but only one of them seemed familiar.

He rubbed his eyes with his front paws and then yawned, "Am I the only one hungry here?" he asked.

"Enough with the chit chat, state your name and business!" Skipper demanded.

The Puli slowly blinked, "Uh, my name? It's Jamaall, that's Jamaall with two, no wait, three As and two Ls," he answered.

The lead bird continued with his glare, "Ahem."

"Bless you," the dog said in response.

The captain slapped his forehead, "It wasn't a sneeze, you didn't tell us the reason you're here."

"Oh, well, that's because I don't know. I remember going to New Orleans, Louisiana with a couple of friends, then blackness and then I woke up here, with my muzzle and paw hurting like hell," the Puli answered.

"Believe me when I say you have no idea what pain even means," Alexander remarked.

Accusing the dog with no firm proof wasn't the best way to go here, so Skipper decided to give it some time. "Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want Jamaall."

Kowalski raised an eyebrow, "Skipper, are you feeling alright? Since when do you –OUCH!" he received a slap to the back of the head and rubbed the spot.

"And where exactly is he going to be staying?" the water monitor asked.

"There's nothing wrong with where I'm now," the dog replied and laid back down after a yawn.

"Great, now that that's settled, we can tend to our morning training," Skipper said.

"Actually," Alexander interrupted, "I'd like to take do some tests on Kowalski first, but don't worry, I'll catch up in say, 5 minutes?"

"Make it 4 and a half and you've got yourself a deal."

"Deal," the water monitor said and shook the bird's flipper. Skipper left afterwards and he turned to the re-attachee. "Sit down," he ordered and the bird obliged. Alexander took a needle and drew a blood sample. Kowalski remained calm during the entire procedure.

"How's the limb doing, everything in order?" the reptile asked.

"Well, I guess it isn't something I can just wing, but I'll get over it."

The medic chuckled, "Yeah, you're just going to have to flipper it."

"Nice to see someone finally understand my sense of humor."

"It's the least I can do."

"So, what do you need the blood for?" the bird asked.

He pulled out the needle and looked at the sample within the syringe, "Just have to make sure you didn't catch anything from that thing. I know I should've already done this, but with all the drugs you were on, I couldn't get an accurate reading."

"Any guesses?"

"You might have lupus."

"Oh haha, just because the Latin word for wolf is lupus, doesn't mean I subtracted an autoimmune disease from that attack," the penguin replied.

"Of course not," Alexander turned to a cabinet and took out a sling, which he threw to Kowalski. "I'm sure you'll figure out how to get that thing on, I've got to go. Need any vicodin or ultram for the pain?"

"Uh, no… no, I think I can handle it," he replied.

Alexander shrugged, "Sure, whatever you want, just show yourself out, when you're done, okay?"

"Affirmative," Kowalski replied and watched the reptile leave. He looked down at the sling for his flipper. It wouldn't do its job, but by wearing it, he'd at least be reminded not to move his appendage. He strapped it on and then exited as well, leaving only the sleeping Puli behind.

The genius bird spent the day in his lab and was replaced by the penguin doll during opening hours. He did more "research", if you can really call it that, by watching _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_, _The Wolfman _and _The Beast Within_, all of which only left him more disturbed than he already was. "Oh, *gulp*," he forced down the half digested fish trying to escape his stomach, "I'm glad I can't remember my own transformation," he said.

He heard the fishbowl move aside and quickly turned off the television. Skipper jumped down the hole, "Ready to go on recon?" he asked his lieutenant.

"Uh, wasn't I instructed to remain to remain in bed?" Kowalski asked, hoping to avoid the job before him.

"No way, as long as you still have at least one working eyeball you CAN go on recon, is that clear?"

"But, m-my flipper and and t-the pain and-"

"I SAID, IS THAT CLEAR?"

Kowalski jumped up and saluted, "Yes sir!" he answered.

"Good, you'll be with me on top of the clock tower. Get ready and meet me top side in five minutes," he ordered and left the base.

As soon as his leader was out of sight, the genius bird began panicking, "What do I do, what do I do? What if the transformation happens when I'm with my team mates? What if they see me? *Gasp* What if it even comes so far that I hurt them? Then they might carry the same curse as me."

He began rubbing his temples, "This is bad, this is really bad, this is bad to the power of googol."

"Kowalski?" someone asked, startling the genius bird and making him scream like a little girl. Private jumped into the HQ. "Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"Who, me? No one, just the, just the spirit of science, surrounding us all," he answered with a sheepish smile.

Private somehow bought it, "Oh, uh, okay, I guess? So, how are you feeling? You know, with the wolf attack and all," the chubby penguin asked.

The constant worries were starting to get on his nerves and he hated having to constantly lie to everyone, but it was a necessary evil to maintain his secret. "I'm fine Private, Alexander did an excellent job. I'm sure I'll be training with you again soon," he reassured.

The little bird smiled, "That's great."

"Are you two gossiping grannies done already, I want to catch that thing already!"

Kowalski and Private looked up and saw their captain looking through the escape hatch. "Be right there Skippah," responded the smaller bird. "Come on, let's go," he gestured to his taller team mate and they went outside.

"We'll do this like we did yesterday, but with two small changes. Firstly, Kowalski will be joining us, and secondly, NO ENGAGING THE ENEMY BY YOURSELF!" he yelled at the water monitor.

"Ok, ok, next time I'll wait for the animal to get killed before going in to help."

Skipper glared at the water monitor, "Listen, I've got you figured out, so don't even try explaining things so they sound like you're trying to do the right thing."

Alexander returned him the glare.

"Everyone, take your positions!" the leader ordered and they all left the penguin exhibit. Skipper and Kowalski were moving the slowest, because they had to go by foot. The taller bird couldn't slide with his flipper supported on his chest.

Kowalski nervously looked up at the sky, it was almost completely dark. He couldn't recall the time of his last transformation, but as soon as he would feel the first symptom, he decided it would be time for him to leave. The duo reached the clock tower and with some minor difficulties, they scaled it.

"So, uh, *Best fake yawn he could muster* ready to "hit the hay"? Also, did you know that the phrase "hit the hay" originates from the begging of the 20th century when mattresses were often sacks stuffed with straw or hay?" Kowalski said air quoting himself.

Skipper just threw him a death glare, "That's a quarter in the show-off jar, besides," he turned towards the zoo and began looking through his binoculars, "The night's still young and we've-"

Kowalski waited for a moment before daring to ask, "We?"

"Shush!" Skipper interrupted, "I think I see something… LET'S GO!" he ordered his lieutenant and jumped off the top of the clock tower.

Kowalski watched him leave, "Poor Skipper, I guess he's just going to have to find out on his own that he was mistaking. *Sigh*, I better get ready for my transformation, so as to not disappoint anyone."

**I guess this is a cliffhanger. I promise I'll update some time in the next two days. Hope you liked it and leave a review!**


	9. Wrong

**9 – Wrong**

**Hey there my most faithful readers, I hated leaving you hanging from a cliff, so here's the next chapter. Asmith137, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there won't be a transformation scene, again, sorry. Enjoy!**

Skipper rushed towards the site of the sighting, the proximity of his own habitat, as fast as he could. "Everyone! Head home! I've spotted the K9!" he yelled into his earphone. The habitat soon came into view, but once he got there, he saw no sign of the beast. "Come out Jamaall, I know you're the terrifying tail-wagger!" he called into the darkness surrounding him.

He heard a sneeze behind him and turned towards it, "Gotcha!" he proclaimed and jumped the dark shape, which he could barely make out. There was some rolling around, but it soon came to a stop, "You thought you could get away with it, didn't you?" he asked, holding some of the Puli's locks while holding him on the ground with one of his webbed orange feet.

The dog remained silent for a few seconds before finally responding, "Bird, why the hatin', can't a dog get some fresh air?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Oh sure," the captain sarcastically replied, "Say, do you want some blood with that air – Don't play with me, we both know what you really are. Now stop the act and admit it already."

Rico, Private and Alexander joined him.

"Skippah, what are you doing to that doggie?" the smallest bird asked.

Skipper looked away from the Puli and at Private, "Boys, let me introduce to you Jamaall, but you might know him better as The Nighttime Canine," he dramatically said at the end.

There was some more silence, before Private spoke again, "If you ask me, he looks nothing like him Skippah. Don't you think you might be wrong here?"

"No dice, it all makes too much sense. On our first encounter Alexander here gave the skull wolf a good right hook. And later at the infirmary, we found out that there was a bone fracture in his muzzle. Can't you see the patern?"

The water monitor slowly raised an appendage and Skipper gave him the word. "It could all just be coincidental," the reptile said.

"Oh yeah! What about afterwards, when we followed him and lost all trace of the skull wolf, who did we find? And how about yesterday's pursuit? We followed the wolf back to the reptile house. It jumped on the roof and then disappeared. Now can anybody tell me, who was found on the exact spot where the wolf vanished? Or maybe I should say," he quickly bent over and picked up the Puli by the neck fur, or locks, "TRANSFORMED!" Skipper yelled directly in his face.

"…Do you know your breath smells like fish?" Jamaall asked.

The lead bird growled and was just about to smack the mutt.

"Skipper, your suspicions are all nicely backed up by your own findings, but I have to say that a "Transforming" animal just isn't possible," Alexander said.

"You're wrong, you're all wrong!" someone said.

The five animals, together with the dog, looked around and spotted Kowalski with a tired look in his eyes. "Nice of you to finally join us," Skipper replied, "Care to explain your last statement, soldier?"

The genius bird removed the sling and threw it away. He began removing the bandages from his flipper, showing them that it was all healed up. "Jamaall isn't the Hell Hound, I am!" he proclaimed.

The captain blinked a few times then let go of the Puli. "Oh come on, it can't be you, you're not even a mammal. This guy's a dog, dogs and wolves are in the same uh…"

"Genus," the medic helped.

"Genus," Skipper finished.

"It's not him okay, I did the math, I've seen enough horror movies to last a life time, I know how it all works. I was bitten and the original wolf is long gone. How is it then that the attacks continue? Huh? Simple, the beast has infected me and now I become the wolf during the night. And as for the accelerated healing process, I am certain it is all a part of my newfound powers."

"Actually," Alexander stepped in, "I think I can explain that. You see, during the operation, you lost a lot of blood, so I used my own. My plasma adapts itself to the host's body and therefore there is no adverse reaction to it, no matter what class of animal it is. As for the healing process, my blood contains vast amounts of stem cells, which would explain your recovery time."

Kowalski blinked a few times, then looked at his flipper, "But, but I was so certain."

"About what, that you would just waddle over here and then transform into the flipper eater? I thought you were smarter than that," Skipper said.

"Skippah's right, since when do you listen to movies over science?" Private asked.

Kowalski blushed and scratched the back of his head, "Well uh, I, hehe, it does seem that I cheated on science with the illogical mistress, doesn't it?"

Skipper shook his head smiling, "Forget about it soldier. Come on, let's go back to base for some hot chocolate," he suggested.

The five of them were just about to jump the moat surrounding the artificial ice floe, when something crossed Private's mind, "Hey wait, aren't we forgetting something?"

Falling from the sky, landing with a loud "thud", growling, came their old acquaintance, the Hell Hound. Everyone turned around and looked him in the empty orbits. They waited for the other to make the first move. "Kowalski, options!" Skipper whispered.

The lieutenant searched his naked persona, but found nothing. That's when he remembered, "Skipper, it just occurred to me that my clipboard had been destroyed by that infernal, uh, Imo-Inu."

The captain shot him a questioning look.

"I ran out of names, okay? There, I said it," the genius bird admitted.

The wolf made a step forward, startling Private. Rico regurgitated his baseball bat and charged at his opponent. The beast didn't even move, when the impact of the wooden bat left a visible crack on its jugal. Rico looked up and saw the wolf slowly turn his "gaze" towards him. The maniac wasn't afraid, but he didn't know what might follow.

"Men, operation: Muzzle without a nuzzle, GO!" ordered Skipper from behind. Kowalski and Private slid towards the wolf. The wolf snatched at Rico, but the maniac jumped back avoiding the attack. Private and Kowalski began circling around him, distracting the canine, while Skipper turned towards the medic.

"Give me a boost," he ordered. The reptile nodded and joined his claws. Skipper jumped and Alexander threw him into the air. The wolf was too confused by the two birds circling around him, to spot the third one until it landed on its neck.

The wolf began jumping around like a rodeo bull, trying to get the penguin off, "Rico!" Skipper called. The maniac knew what he needed without any further instructions. He regurgitated a dog muzzle and threw it to his leader. Skipper caught it and strapped it on. "That should even the playing field," he remarked and jumped off.

The remaining team members joined him by his side and together they watched their slightly incapacitated opponent. "Great job men, any ideas what to do now?" he asked. The beast was tending to the muzzle and wasn't paying any attention to them. "Come on people, I came up with the muzzle idea, so how's about some help?" the leader said.

"We could try talking to him and becoming friends," Private suggested.

"We should tranquilize it and examine its biology," Kowalski proposed.

"Severing the spinal cord would paralyze it and get it out of our scales and or feathers," Alexander said.

Rico simply regurgitated a lit stick of dynamite, "Kaboom?" he asked his leader.

Skipper snatched the dynamite and threw it away, "All your ideas are horrible," he said. An explosion was heard, followed by the "My car!" yell. "This is what we're going to do, we'll beat the living daylight out of that thing and then we'll trace its origin, no matter where it may lead us."

"That might not be necessary," Kowalski said.

Skipper looked around, not knowing what his lieutenant meant with that, and saw the wolf slowly coming to a stop. Next it fell over on its side, completely stiff. "What the deuce?" the leader asked and slid over to it. "Analysis," he demanded.

Alexander checked the wolf's vitals, "Presuming that he had a pulse before, there's no pulse now," he reported.

What happened next surprised them even more, the body of the Hell Hound evaporated into the air, leaving nothing but the muzzle behind. Skipper blinked a few times, before turning to his scientist. "Kowalski?" he asked, but the lieutenant just shrugged. He thought about it some more, "Could it be that… the sunrise is getting closer and that's what happens to it during the day?" he tried.

Rico regurgitated a watch which he handed over to Kowalski, "No, it's before the time of the first attack, which means that can't be it." Skipper scratched his bottom beak and continued listening to his lieutenant, "But it is amazing, the disappearance, it simply cannot be scientifically explained. It's almost like, like,…"

"Magic," the leader muttered to himself. He turned to his team, "It doesn't matter, nobody got hurt," Kowalski was just going to correct him, but, "Or is hurt anymore!" he shot him a glare. "No one died and so on. We can't explain this to anyone, so I guess the best thing to do here is to simply forget about the incident of the past 48 hours, is that understood?"

Everyone saluted and answered simultaneously, "Yes sir!"

"Good, now get some shut eye," he looked around, searching for someone, "And Alexander, go and find that guest of yours. Looks like Bob Marley ran off when the wolf appeared."

"Nah man," they all turned around and saw the dog emerging from the hole, leading into the HQ. "You said there was going to be hot chocolate, so I thought you guys were fighting that thing after we drink it. I've been waiting in here for fifteen minutes," he complained.

Skipper rolled his eyes, "Alexander, grab Jamaall and take him back to the reptile house, I think we're done for the evening.

The water monitor proceeded as told and left for the reptile. The penguins entered their HQ and jumped into their bunks, where they quickly fell asleep.

**To be honest, I should've ended the chapter here, but I decided to finish the story instead. But still, consider this part, a chapter of its own**

**10 – Unfinished Business**

**A pinch of torture and a dash of horror, all served cold, as the desert called REVENGE. Enjoy!**

Slowly leaving the zoo, was a small dark figure. Judging by the way it moved, you could tell that it was a quadruped. The figure threw the zoo a last glance, "I'm definitely never coming back here again," it said and continued with its departure. "The stash was nice and all, but it wasn't worth the trouble," the figure began talking to itself, "Not to mention that guy gave me the creeps," the figure shivered.

"Oh come now, maybe that guy was just misunderstood," said a different voice.

The figure stopped in its tracks, "Who's there?" it asked.

"It's funny, your life is at stake and you want to know who is going to end it, when there are more important questions you could ask."

The original figure tried making out where the voice was coming from, but it couldn't. "Show yourself!" it demanded.

There was a silence until the figure heard a whisper in its ear, "Hello Jamaall," said the second voice. After that, everything went black, for the dark figure.

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the zoo, light snoring is heard inside a cave. A female scream suddenly rips through the darkness, waking up the remaining inhabitants. A light is turned on, revealing Darla the baboon. The mammal looked around and saw one of her roommates waking up as well. "Where's Melissa," Darla asked.

The other baboon shrugged. Darla narrowed her eyes and got out of bed, "Wait here," She ordered and went outside. It was still pretty much dark, but she looked around anyway. The other baboon was nowhere to be seen, "Now where did that girl wander off to in the middle of the night?" she asked.

Another female scream was heard coming from inside the cave. Darla quickly ran back inside and found here roommates tied up to one another, each with a "Mort doll" in her mouth. "Melissa, Marissa!" she called and ran over to them, "Who did this to you?" she ungagged one of the girls.

"Behind you!" Marissa screamed.

Darla quickly turned around and immediately received a slap on her mouth. She stumbled back slightly and soon realized that it was something more than just a simple slap. She touched her mouth and felt something sticking to it. She tried removing it, but failed to do so.

"Don't bother, according to Kowalski, the glue binds with the animal's cells. It's the stickiest substance in existence."

Darla lowered her gaze and spotted the flat headed penguin.

"But don't worry, it'll wear off in about thirty hours, which is about the time you'll need to get to India," Skipper said.

The lead baboon's eyes widened, but she still couldn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry about shutting you up like this, but I had to make sure you wouldn't use any of your "Backwood" magic on me."

Darla had enough of this, she charged at Skipper, but was no match for him. She didn't even realize what had happened. All she knew was that she was now tied up together with her roommates. There was some pain in her foot, stomach and neck.

Skipper sighed, "Where do animals even get the idea that they could beat me?" he asked and then turned towards the baboons.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I came here, well, let me tell you. I figured out that you created the beast I dubbed "Hell Hound" and released it on the zoo inhabitants. During its rampage, it assaulted my lieutenant. So consider this a little "Off the books" payback," he said with a smirk.

"We didn't mean for the wolf to hurt anybody," Marissa said, "It was just supposed to be a harmless Halloween prank, you know, to scare the animals."

Skipper waddled over to her, "I understand," he pushed the Mort doll back into her mouth. "And I hope you'll understand that your little trip is going to be my prank, to you guys. Happy Halloween!" he said and left the cave.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, someone was waking up because of some powerful lights shining above him. He tried shielding his eyes, but realized he couldn't, because something was preventing him from raising his paws. He turned his head to the left, to get a look at the restraints, but the truth was, there was no paw to see. He began screaming from the top of his lungs and while gasping for air, he heard footsteps.

He seized his screaming and waited for someone to come, "Hello Jamaall, I see you are awake," greeted Alexander, entering the room, carrying a bleached paw skeleton and an electric power drill. There were wires, springs and hinges run through the bones, making sure any possible movement with it, was the same as the muscles enabled it before.

"Do you know why you're here?" Alexander asked calmly and sat down on the Puli's left side. He positioned the bones where they once were and took the power drill.

Jamaall tried focusing and answering the question, "B-b-because I-I S-stole?" the dog stuttered.

"Oh, that's right," the water monitor acted surprised and powered up the drill, "But more accurately, you stole from me." He made a hole in the dog's shoulder blade. The Puli was once again screaming. This whole scenario was like a visit to the dentist, only it was happening somewhere else on the body, and the dentist was a psychopath.

There was a hinge, with a screw end, on top of the humerus, which Alexander began screwing into the freshly made hole, "There, good as new," he proclaimed. "You know, painkiller addictions are very common," he began explaining while making his way to the other side of the dog. "The drugs are easy to get to and the possession isn't illegal, but like I said, your mistake was stealing from me."

"He began sharpening his claws with a knife sharpener, "I bet you want to know how I figured it out. It's simple actually, I went to the spot where we found you, with a spray bottle of luminol. I figured out that those injuries were self inflicted and voila, here we are." He applied shaving cream to the dog's right paw and shaved off the locks with his claws. "It's easier to cut this way," he explained and pressed one of his claws against his skin, "Any last words?"

"A-are you g-going t-to kill me?" he asked.

Alexander formed an evil smile, answering his question.

**There you have it, my Halloween fic. To be honest I didn't think it would be this long. My next story requires some more research, but it should be up some time in the next week. Hope you liked it and review!**


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